Carl W. Kenney II is an award winning columnist and novelist. He is committed to engaging readers into a meaningful discussion related to matters that impact faith and society. He grapples with pondering the impact faith has on public space while seeking to understand how public space both hinders and enhances the walk of faith.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Pennsylvania Governor signs bill aimed at silencing Mumia Abu-Jamal

When you have
a voice that travels around the world people will do all they can to stop you
from speaking. Some people don’t take it
kindly when a convicted murder delivers a commencement speech.

Pennsylvania
Gov. Tom Corbett has signed a new law to silence Mumia Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal was
convicted of first-degree murder in the 1981 shooting of a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
police officer. Once known as the voice from death row, Abu-Jamal’s sentence
was commuted to life without parole in 2013.

The new law,
signed on Tuesday, allows victims of violent crimes to sue the offender for “conduct
which perpetuates the continuing effect of the crime on the victim.”

The law was
fast-tracked after Abu-Jamal delivered a commencement address at Goddard
College in Vermont. Abu-Jamal obtained a bachelor degree from Goddard while
behind bars in 1996.The law allows
victims and prosecutors to sue felons in prison or after they have completed
their sentence for conduct that the law says “perpetuates the continuing effect
of the crime on the victim”.

Corbett said
the law is intended to mute the “obscene celebrity” status of convicts like
Abu-Jamal, the Associated Press reported. Corbett signed the bill within
footsteps of where Daniel Faulkner was killed. Faulkner is the officer Abu-Jamal
was convicted of murdering.

“The law was
inspired by the excesses and pious hypocrisy of one particular killer,” Corbett
said.

Corbett may
find it difficult to curb Abu-Jamal’s celebrity status.The administration and student body at
Goddard College embraced his speech for reasons some can’t understand.They believe in his innocence.They are moved by his message behind prison
walls.They are inspired by his
humility.

None of that
will go away.

“Freedom was
taken away when he murdered a police officer in the line of duty,” Maureen
Faulkner, the widow of Daniel Faulkner, told Fox News. “It seems like our
justice system allows murderers to continue to have a voice over the public
airwaves and at college commencement. It’s despicable,”

Is that true?
Can one forfeit their Constitutional right to freedom of speech by virtue of
being incarcerated?Is that stated in
the Constitution, or do we allow for a provision that grants people the right
to punish people for garnering support and popularity?

“Essentially,
any action by an inmate or former offender that could cause ‘mental anguish’
could be banned by a judge,” Reggie Shuford, Pennsylvania ALCU director, said
in a statement to the Associated Press. “That
can’t pass constitutional muster under the First Amendment.”

Administrators
at Goddard College aren’t happy that a law was passed due to their acceptance
of Abu-Jamal.

“In essence
this law is suggesting that people are not capable of making choices about what
speech they will listen to and how they will react to that speech,” Samantha
Kolber, a spokesperson for Goddard College, told the Patriot-News of Central PA
.”That we wonder how libertarians and free-speech conservatives feel about this
action, and we also speculate about how far this diminishment of free-speech
rights will go.”

Hanrahan said
Prison Radio has dozens of notable people ready to stand in for and read
Abu-Jamal’s work if the District Attorney or Attorney General sues Abu-Jamal

Abu-Jamal has
recorded over 3,000 essays, published seven books with two more to be released
in 2015. He has three major broadcast and theatrical movies in which he is the
subject. His work has been translated in nine languages.Mumia:
Long Distance Revolutionary is currently airing on the STARZ Network.

I doubt if
the threat of a lawsuit will stop Mumia Abu-Jamal.Listen to what he has to say.

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Carl W. Kenney II

Carl was named the best serious columnist of 2011 by the North Carolina Press Association for his work with the News & Observer's community paper The Durham News and in 2016 by the Missouri Press Association for his columns in the Columbia Missourian. He is a columnist with the News & Observer and Co-Executive Producer of "God of the Oppressed" an upcoming documentary film on black liberation theology. He is a former Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri - School of Journalism and Adjunct Instructor at Duke University, the Center for Documentary Studies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He furthered his education at Duke University and attained a Master of Divinity. He was named a Fellow in Pastoral Leadership Development at the Princeton Theological Seminary on May 14, 2005. He is a freelance writer with his commentary appearing in The Washington Post, Religious News Services,The Independent Weekly and The Durham Herald-Sun. Carl is the author of two novels: “Preacha’ Man” and the sequel “Backslide”.
He has led congregations in Missouri and North Carolina